http://www.theasgardproject.com The Asgard Project :: Our objective is to produce a groundbreaking film about the first free ascent of Asgard’s NWface, regarded as one of the most difficult big walls in the world. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/moreawardsforAl/ Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:40:45 GMT The Awards keep coming for Al Lee. he recently scooped three awards for The Asgard Project and two for The Prophet, his latest collaboration with Leo Houlding. The Asgard Project has scooped the coveted Best Climbing Film Award at this year’s Banff Mountain Film Festival, where Al was present to collect the award and introduce his multi award winning film. The Asgard Project scooped the Alpine Golden Camera Award at this year's Graz Mountain Film Festival and grand prize at the Torello Mountain Film Festival in Spain! The awards kept coming when Al's latest film 'The Prophet' from the Psyche II dvd won Best Climbing film and the Grand Prize at the 2010 Kendal Mountain Film Festival! You can also read Al's report from his visit to the Banff Film festival here. Well done Al! http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/anotheraward/ Mon, 15 Nov 2010 08:25:11 GMT The Asgard Project has scooped the coveted Best Climbing Film Award at this year’s Banff Mountain Film Festival. Berghaus athlete and Asgard film maker Alastair Lee was at the festival to pick up the award.   Now in its 35th year, the Banff Mountain Film Festival has become the premier event of its kind in the world. The Festival showcases the world’s best films on mountain subjects – climbing, culture, environment, exploration and adventure, and sport – and attracts the biggest names in mountaineering, adventure filmmaking, and extreme sports as presenters and speakers. The annual festival is held in the heart of the Canadian Rockies where more than 60 films were screened during the nine-day festival.   Alastair opened the film screening of The Asgard Project at the festival and presented his new book Lake District: Mountain Landscape which was short listed for ‘Best Mountain Image’ award.   See the full results on the Banff Festival website. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/moreawards/ Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:02:09 GMT Two more awards for the mighty Asgard Project. The first came on Saturday night in Germany at the international mountain film festival of Tegernsee (Germany) where the film won first prize in the category "mountain experience alpinism, mountain sports, adventure". Then on Sunday at the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival it scooped the Best Climbing Film award. Awards won so far:WINNER BEST CLIMBING FILM AT THE EDINBURGH FILM FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER BEST MOUNTAIN EXPERIENCE AT THE TEGERNSEE FILM FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE AT THE ADVENTURE FILM FESTIVAL LONDON 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE AT THE LADEK MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL POLAND 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE AT THE VI INKAFEST, HUARAZ, PERU 2010WINNER GOLDEN DEVIL FOR EXTREME SPORTS DIABLERETS MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE SQUAMISH MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER BEST CLIMBING FILM NZ MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE DOMZALE MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER BEST FEATURE LLAMFF MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER PEOPLE'S CHOICE SHEFFIELD MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER PEOPLE'S CHOICE KENDAL MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2009 http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/banff/ Wed, 27 Oct 2010 09:06:07 GMT Berghaus athlete and Asgard film maker Alastair Lee will be lecturing at this year’s Banff Film Festival, where he is also nominated for 'Best Mountain Image' and unsurprsingly the Asgard Project is up for a nubmer of awards. The annual festival is held in the heart of the Canadian Rockies with an audience of over 10,000 attending. Festival goers can experience more than 30 events over nine days including screenings of the world’s best mountain films and readings from adventure writers, noon-hour seminars tackling current mountain issues, panel discussions and presentations by prominent mountain personalities, filmmakers, and industry figures. Alastair will be opening the film screening of The Asgard Project, as well as presenting his new book Lake District: Mountain Landscape a spectacular new perspective on the Lake District. Alastair’s trip to the Banff festival in Canada will no doubt spark memories for him as Baffin Island, situated in Northern Canada, was the setting for the award-winning Asgard Project. Awards won so far:WINNER BEST CLIMBING FILM AT THE EDINBURGH FILM FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER BEST MOUNTAIN EXPERIENCE AT THE TEGERNSEE FILM FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE AT THE ADVENTURE FILM FESTIVAL LONDON 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE AT THE LADEK MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL POLAND 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE AT THE VI INKAFEST, HUARAZ, PERU 2010 WINNER GOLDEN DEVIL FOR EXTREME SPORTS DIABLERETS MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE SQUAMISH MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER BEST CLIMBING FILM NZ MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE DOMZALE MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER BEST FEATURE LLAMFF MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER PEOPLE'S CHOICE SHEFFIELD MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER PEOPLE'S CHOICE KENDAL MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2009 http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/adventurefest/ Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:06:23 GMT The Asgard Project has won the grand prize at the Adventure Film Festival. Asgard film maker Al Lee was at the gala opening night at the Vue cinema in Leicester Sq, London, to receive the award.   The festival, which kicked off on Monday 4th October will run throughout the month, consisting of three themed nights - Action Adventure, High Altitude Adventure and Elemental Adventure (featuring Asgard Project) - at more than 30 cinemas nationwide. Tickets for the festival can be claimed online at www.adventurefest.co.uk Simply choose a cinema from the venues around the country to get a listing of the screenings available and print the e-ticket to take along to the cinema. Tickets are allocated on a first come first served basis. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/Ladek/ Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:15:02 GMT Fresh from its small screen debut on Discovery's freeview channel 'QUEST' Sunday 26 September, there's no stopping the all conquering Asgard Project. Its raid on the world's festivals continues, the latest loot just in is the Grand Prize at the Ladek Mountain Film Festival in Poland. That's another one to add to the growing list of prizes to date for the blockbuster about Leo Houlding's epic trip to Baffin Island: WINNER GRAND PRIZE: LADEK MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL POLAND 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE: VI INKAFEST, HUARAZ, PERU 2010 WINNER GOLDEN DEVIL FOR EXTREME SPORTS: DIABLERETS MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE: SQUAMISH MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER BEST CLIMBING: FILM NZ MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER GRAND PRIZE: DOMZALE MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER BEST FEATURE: LLAMFF MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER PEOPLE'S CHOICE: SHEFFIELD MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2010 WINNER PEOPLE'S CHOICE: KENDAL MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2009 http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/smallscreen/ Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:05:52 GMT The Asgard Project made its first broadcast on the small screen this wekeend on Discovery's new freeview channel 'Quest'. Aired on the 26 September the multi-award winning Asgard Project is an exciting and ambitious expedition captured in high definition by our very own athlete and award winning film maker Alastair Lee.  The film follows Berghaus athlete Leo Houlding and his team as they push the boundaries of what is possible in the world of big wall climbing, by attempting to reach the top of a 2000 metres high tower of granite, Mount Asgard, located in a remote glacial region of Baffin Island in Arctic Canada. To reach Mount Asgard, Leo Houlding, Sean 'Stanley' Leary and fellow Berghaus athlete Carlos Suarez, sky-dived into the heart of Baffin Island, while the film and rigging crew had to take on a gruelling five day trek carrying 30kg packs.  The team climbed up to 20 hours straight each day, in sub-zero temperatures with 23 hours of shade, endured severe ice storms that left 4cm of frost on all of their ropes, and had to make up camp each night on the vertical face. Halfway up the wall, Leo took a 50ft fall that almost ended his climb, and left him with damaged and bleeding fingers.  Once at the summit, Leo, a pioneer in para-alphinism, and Stanley put on parachutes and new advanced lightweight wing-suits, which they used to make a groundbreaking BASE descent from the top of the tower, leaving the rest of the team to abseil back down, a journey which took them a further two days. The Asgard Project captures every detail of the 12 day epic challenge, as Leo and his team successfully reached the top of Mount Asgard just before the route became completely unclimbable.  The film premiered at Kendal Mountain Film Festival in November last year and is now available on DVD. Leo Houlding comments: "Climbing Asgard's North West face, which is regarded as one of the world's most difficult big walls, was the greatest challenge I have set myself to date.  I've been to the top of the world, suffered career threatening injury and completed some amazing adventures, but The Asgard Project tested me more than anything that has done before.  The climb was extremely tough and we faced a savage ice storm that made us consider retreat, but we finally got enough of a break in the weather to finish the route." http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/anotherday/ Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:47:57 GMT It seems that not a day goes by without the Asgard Project winning another award! This time it has been awarded the Grand prize in the 6th Inkafest (Peru). The Jury expressed the following - 'to summarize all that the festival wants to show, Mountaineering, climbing and adventure, with fast assembly, right photography that captures the viewer's attention until the last minute.'   The Jury: Joan Salarich (Spain): Director of the Torello Film Festival Ignacio Galindez (Argentina): Documentary filmmaker Augusto Ortega (Peru): Climber Alejandro Rossi (Peru): Documentary filmmaker   Prize: Trophy: God Alpamayo and Diploma. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/Godlendevil/ Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:21:10 GMT The Asgard Project has continued its winning streak by picking up the brilliantly titled 'Golden Devil for Extreme Sports Film' at the Swiss Festival du Film des Diablerets. You can find out more at: http://www.fifad.ch/ Alastair Lee has also produced some new desktop images for his new film Psyche 2. You can download it at: https://www.posingproductions.com/wallpaper.php http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/wallpaper/ Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:41:48 GMT Al Lee, The Asgard Project director, has produced a number of stunning desktop images for the Asgard project and you can download them for free! To download your desktop images simply visit: https://www.posingproductions.com/wallpaper.php http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/squamish/ Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:54:56 GMT The awards just seem to keep coming for the Asgard Project - it has now picked up Best Film Overall at Squamish Mountain Festival which is a five day celebration of climbing cultue.   The sell out crowd were cheering, laughing and held in silent suspense by the twists and turns of the film.   Well done Al.   More info at: http://www.squamishmountainfestival.com/ http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/thirdouttakes1/ Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:58:10 GMT A third instalment of outtakes from the Asgard Project is now available. This episode sees Leo and Carlos practising their BASE jumping skills in Carlos' native Spain on the twin towers of Riglos. This was the first training expedition for the Asgard Project and allowed Leo and Carlos to test their climbing skills by trying to climb both towers in under two hours. View the outtake here http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/topaward/ Fri, 21 May 2010 13:49:56 GMT The Asgard Project has been awarded the prestigious title of ‘Best Mountaineering Film’ at the 4th International Mountain Film Festival, Slovenia. The panel of esteemed judges gave a unanimous decision commenting ‘The film maker managed to produce a captivating film in a very harsh environment; fresh and innovative’. The ground breaking film now boasts an impressive collection of awards including: People’s Choice award at Kendal Mountain Festival, Best Feature at LLAMFF, and People’s Choice award at Sheffield Adventure Film Festival. For a full list of entries and winners from the International Mountain Film Festival visit http://www.imffd.com/2010/ http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/outtakes/ Thu, 13 May 2010 13:39:33 GMT The Asgard Project movie has been an astounding success winning many awards including People’s Choice award at Kendal Mountain Festival, Best Feature at LLAMFF, and People’s Choice award at Sheffield Adventure Film Festival. Award winning film maker Alastair Lee captured every moment of the epic ascent in high definition – including all the parts that didn’t make the final cut. Alastair has now started to put together a series of out takes from the project and the training climbs.  The first two are now available, and include an amazing wing suit flight in Monte Brento, Italy. You can view the out takes at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhRnpMIIKGc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi_fWu8rE88 http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/Asgardgame/ Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:44:26 GMT Following on from Berghaus sponsored athlete Leo Houlding’s ascent of Mount Asgard we’ve created an online game to give outdoor enthusiasts of every level the chance to experience the adrenaline of extreme big wall climbing. The expedition was an ambitious project in which Leo and fellow Berghaus athlete Carlos Suarez climbed the mile high Mount Asgard, on Baffin Island, and then BASE jumped from the top.  The whole expedition was captured by director Alastair Lee and turned in to an award winning film, The Asgard Project. In the game players can battle the elements and perils of extreme climbing such as rock falls, snow storms and ice over a series of stages before reaching the summit.  By connecting to Facebook players can unlock awards, video content from the movie and add their name to the leaderboard.   Through the social network players can invite their friends to take part in the game and compete for the best score, increasing the viral uptake of the game.   If you feel up to the challenge then why not grab your virtual climbing gear and give the game a go:  www.climbmountasgard.com http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/sheffield/ Fri, 26 Mar 2010 10:49:10 GMT The Asgard Project has continued its winning streak by winning yet another award, this time picking up the People’s Choice Award at the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival.     The film was also very well received at the Leon Festival – it was watched by over 700 people including a group of schoolchildren who were enthralled by the fast pace and dangerous nature of the expedition. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/LLAMFF/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:58:45 GMT The Asgard Project has continued its award winning run by picking up Best Feature at the Llanberies Mountain Film Festival.   LLAMFF dedicates itself to exploring mountain culture and inspiring adventure so was the perfect event to show Asgard Project film.   The LLAMFF award follows on from the film being given the People’s Choice Award at the Kendal Mountain Festival shortly after its release.   You can pick up your copy of the film here. Find out more about the LLAMFF Film festival. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/interview/ Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:35:38 GMT The Asgard Project was preimiered at the Kendal Mountain festival and during the event expedition leader Leo Houlding and film-maker Alastair Lee were interviewed by Chris Brooke. Chirs, who created the music for the film, captures the pair giving insights in to the logistics of organising such an epic trip. During the Kendal Film Festival the Asgard Project won the People’s Choice Award, receiving five times as many votes as any other film. You can hear the full clip at: https://www.posingproductions.com/video.php?form_action=play&video_id=179 You can order you Asgard Project DVD at: www.posingproductions.com http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/premiere/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:01:33 GMT Terrible weather in the run up to Kendal Mountain Festival didn't dampen the anticipation that had built up around the premiere of the Asgard Project film. The premiere had sold out in record time, with all 700 tickets being sold straight after going on sale, and before the film had even been finished by award-winning film maker Alastair Lee. The original four screenings was increased to deal with the demand by visitors to the major film festival. The popularity of the film was recognised at the festival where it was given the People's Choice Award, receiving five times as many votes as any other film. Berghaus sponsored athlete Leo Houlding who led the Asgard Project said: "We set out to make blockbuster adventure movie the likes of which nobody has seen before, we totally nailed it!" Director of the Adventure Film Academy commented that the film was 'a climbing Mission Impossible.' To launch the James Bond style movie with flair the members of the Asgard Project team who attended the festival, which included Berghaus athletes Leo Houlding and Carlos Suarez, along with film crew and director Alastair Lee, donned tuxedos and relaxed at the after show party. You can pre-order your copy of the Asgard Project DVD, which is on sale in December, by visiting posing productions. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/Completed/ Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:03:44 GMT SUCCESS!! After 12 days of suffering in sub zero temperatures, in the shade 23 hours a day and weathering severe ice storms we succeed in getting Al, Chris, Jas, Stanley and Leo to the top of the wall. The harsh conditions and incredibly steep blank nature of the rock only allowed us to free half the route but given the situation and time of year (the summer is short up here it is now autumn) we are over the moon that we made it to the top. It has been brutal thank god we all had the right kit otherwise frost-nip and hyperthermia would have had us by now. Mount Asgard is named after the realm of the Norsk gods. It feels like those gods having been toying with us the whole time. After a savage ice storm that left 4cm of haw frost on all the ropes and brought the first discussions of retreat we were treated to an insane display of the northern lights and enough fine weather to finish the route. On the summit a snowy owl swooped right by to check us out. A positive sign. On the final stage of the rappel the gods sent us off with 10 cm of snow. The wall is now unclimable. Asgard allowed us to the top but by the skin of our teeth. It has been such a hard experience for all of us and we are physically and psychologically exhausted. My hands are in pieces just unzipping my sleeping bag is agony. Can't wait to get back to civilization. Haven't showered for a month and we've had our fill of freeze dried rations. Thankfully we still have enough fresh coffee and chocolate for the 30 mile hike out of here. Our back packs are huge, at least 30 kg each. After 2 days of dragging barrels and haul bags we are now down at Summit lake shelter and finally off the glacier that has been home for the last month. Much nicer down here - enjoying sun and sleeping on sand instead of ice. Though destroyed and surviving on painkillers and anti-inflamatories we're all in good spirits. Just another 3 days of hard hiking to go. The river crossings that were waist deep raging torrents on the way up are now trickles we can boulder hop across without removing boots. SO ready to get out of here! Can almost taste the fresh food and beer. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/Success/ Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:00:24 GMT SUCCESS!! After 12 days of suffering in sub zero temperatures, in the shade 23 hours a day and weathering severe ice storms we succeed in getting Al, Chris, Jas, Stanley and Leo to the top of the wall. The harsh conditions and incredibly steep blank nature of the rock only allowed us to free half the route but given the situation and time of year (the summer is short up here it is now autumn) we are over the moon that we made it to the top. It has been brutal thank god we all had the right kit otherwise frost-nip and hyperthermia would have had us by now. Mount Asgard is named after the realm of the Norsk gods. It feels like those gods having been toying with us the whole time. After a savage ice storm that left 4cm of haw frost on all the ropes and brought the first discussions of retreat we were treated to an insane display of the northern lights and enough fine weather to finish the route. On the summit a snowy owl swooped right by to check us out. A positive sign. On the final stage of the rappel the gods sent us off with 10 cm of snow. The wall is now unclimable. Asgard allowed us to the top but by the skin of our teeth. It has been such a hard experience for all of us and we are physically and psychologically exhausted. My hands are in pieces just unzipping my sleeping bag is agony. Can't wait to get back to civilization. Haven't showered for a month and we've had our fill of freeze dried rations. Thankfully we still have enough fresh coffee and chocolate for the 30 mile hike out of here. Our back packs are huge, at least 30 kg each. After 2 days of dragging barrels and haul bags we are now down at Summit lake shelter and finally off the glacier that has been home for the last month. Much nicer down here - enjoying sun and sleeping on sand instead of ice. Though destroyed and surviving on painkillers and anti-inflamatories we're all in good spirits. Just another 3 days of hard hiking to go. The river crossings that were waist deep raging torrents on the way up are now trickles we can boulder hop across without removing boots. SO ready to get out of here! Can almost taste the fresh food and beer.       http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/summitarticle/ Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:25:00 GMT Leo Houlding and team successfully summit Mount Asgard Leo Houlding and his team have successfully reached the top of Mount Asgard after 12 days of climbing, in an ambitious expedition that tested all involved to the limit. The team endured extremely harsh conditions on the 1400 metre high tower of granite, which is in a remote region of Baffin Island, Arctic Canada.  They climbed during days in which there were 23 hours of shade and endured sub-zero temperatures and severe ice storms that left 4cm of haw frost on all of their ropes.  Leo, fellow Berghaus climber Carlos Suarez and the rest of the team, managed to reach the top just before the route became completely unclimbable. Every aspect of the gruelling climb was captured in high definition by award winning film maker Alastair Lee.  To make all of this possible, the team was given substantial support by Berghaus and leading mobile communications company Nokia.  Leo Houlding comments: “Climbing Asgard’s North West face, which is regarded as one of the world’s most difficult big walls, was the greatest challenge I have set myself to date. The climb was extremely tough and we faced a savage ice storm that made us consider retreat, but we finally got enough of a break in the weather to finish the route.” Alastair Lee adds: “We are over the moon that we made it to the top. It has been brutal - thank God we all had the right kit otherwise frost-nip and hyperthermia would have had us by now.” He continued: “It has been such a hard experience for all of us and we are physically and psychologically exhausted. My hands are in pieces and just unzipping my sleeping bag is agony - I can't wait to get back to civilization. We haven't showered for a month and we've had our fill of freeze dried rations. “Though destroyed and surviving on on painkillers and anti-inflamatories we're all in good spirits. The river crossings that were waist deep ragging torrents on the way up are now trickles we can boulder hop across without removing boots.  I can almost taste the fresh food and beer. “ In preparation for the epic climb, Leo completed three crucial training expeditions, to Riglos in Spain, Brento in Italy and the world famous Yosemite National Park in the USA.  On each trip, Leo and climbing partners tackled major big walls and tested and refined the techniques that would make the difference between failure and success on Asgard.  He was also supplied with some prototypes of new Berghaus products to put to the test throughout the year.        http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/starting1/ Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:19:55 GMT Day 1. The Haul Report. We have found a relatively rock fall free line.Chris, Jason, Al, Stanley and Leo set about hauling 300kg up 350meters of steep choss held together by ice. 15 hours later at 5am the exhausted team crawled into their sleeping bags. Day 2 We got bombarded by ice fall from the top of Asgard all night, the chunks where small and we were too tired to care.We turned a hostile scree slope into a relatively comfortable home.We have organised the kit ready to climb the wall proper. Day 3 Cold and snowy - Bollocks!Start leading anyway. Stanley leads the first pitch, wet icy and snowy, but not too hard.Pitch 2. More of the same.Difficult transferring from alpine boots to climbing shoes. Difficult to climb with so many clothes and numb hands and feet.Pitch 3. THE OFF-WIDTH.Bring out the Yosemite god Stanley.Titanic battle with a verhglass filled off width. not dissimilar to the Monster Crack on Free Rider. A good Lead.With the icy rain and with darkness falling we retreat to advanced base camp. Day 4 Windy and cold night but no ice showers.  Difficult to motivate in 2 degrees for hard free climbing.Early afternoon the weather starts to clear, we are going to go up!Moral high in the men, their is plenty left in us for the rest of the fight.We just need a few days of stable weather.Leo Climbed another pitch this afternoon, which proved to be very hard.  We then retreated to ABC late in the evening as darkness fell. Day 5 We slept through a snow shower and woke to find a cloud inversion on the glacier and snow on the portaledges. The weather is now bright and sunny, and we are going to move the camp higher up the wall.Water and fuel could be an issue from now on.Leo and Stanley are going to climb much higher today. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/starting/ Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:11:26 GMT Day 1. The Haul Report. We have found a relatively rock fall free line.Chris, Jason, Al, Stanley and Leo set about hauling 300kg up 350meters of steep choss held together by ice. 15 hours later at 5am the exhausted team crawled into their sleeping bags. Day 2 We got bombarded by ice fall from the top of Asgard all night, the chunks where small and we were too tired to care.We turned a hostile scree slope into a relatively comfortable home.We have organised the kit ready to climb the wall proper. Day 3 Cold and snowy - Bollocks!Start leading anyway. Stanley leads the first pitch, wet icy and snowy, but not too hard.Pitch 2. More of the same.Difficult transferring from alpine boots to climbing shoes. Difficult to climb with so many clothes and numb hands and feet.Pitch 3. THE OFF-WIDTH.Bring out the Yosemite god Stanley.Titanic battle with a verhglass filled off width. not dissimilar to the Monster Crack on Free Rider. A good Lead.With the icy rain and with darkness falling we retreat to advanced base camp. Day 4 Windy and cold night but no ice showers.  Difficult to motivate in 2 degrees for hard free climbing.Early afternoon the weather starts to clear, we are going to go up!Moral high in the men, their is plenty left in us for the rest of the fight.We just need a few days of stable weather.Leo Climbed another pitch this afternoon, which proved to be very hard.  We then retreated to ABC late in the evening as darkness fell. Day 5 We slept through a snow shower and woke to find a cloud inversion on the glacier and snow on the portaledges. The weather is now bright and sunny, and we are going to move the camp higher up the wall.Water and fuel could be an issue from now on.Leo and Stanley are going to climb much higher today. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/cimb/ Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:56:59 GMT On the climb! We've received the latest update from Leo and the team - unfortunately there have been some communication problems and only the second part of the update was received but it really brings home the difficulties the team are facing taking on the mighty Mount Asgard. Day 6 The steep and blank nature of the rock forced Leo and Stanley to full on aid climb today Progress was extremely slow. It looks free climbable, but too hard to do onsight with a few questionable sections. We only fixed two pitches. Meanwhile, Chris and Jason started to move the camp upto the ledge on belay 4, they brought the portaledges and enough food and gear for 1 night. Unfortunately the stove was damaged during the haul, so we had no hot food today. Day 7 Having not eaten or drunk anything all day or all night yesterday, we woke up wanting to go home. Stanley gallantly descended to get the other stove. After coffee and breakfast, motivation started to return. Leo and Stanley climbed up and fixed another 3 pitched. Chris, Jason and Al brought the rest of the camp to the ledge. Leo and Stanley returned to camp after midnight, they where both exhausted. The route still looks free climbable but we are running out of time. The weather is still and clear but very cold as we are in the shade all day. Day 8 The jumar up to the high point is becoming very long, our hands are a bloody mess! It is very difficult to get going in the morning. Two very slow pitches of difficult aid climbing, Leo took the first fall of the trip, a 15 ft time bomb. Aid climbing is very hard work, wish we could focus on free climbing but we need to get to the top of this thing. Day 9 Oh dear, the weather is deteriorating. we now have the first real wind of the trip, its brutally cold and extremely intimidating when it blows. It feels more like mid winter and not mid summer. Everyone is wearing all their clothes. If this wind persists, I'm not sure if we are going to make it. It's Stanley's birthday, 34 years old today - that will be a portaledge party and flapjacks to celebrate! If the wind calms down we will try to free climb and film some pitches today. If the wind persists, we will be in the portaledges all day. It's only 6 more pitches to the top but we need to film and free some stuff. Its going to be a big challenge to get everyone up and off Asgard in the next 6 days. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/The_Climb/ Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:54:46 GMT On the climb! We've received the latest update from Leo and the team - unfortunately there have been some communication problems and only the second part of the update was received but it really brings home the difficulties the team are facing taking on the mighty Mount Asgard. Day 6 The steep and blank nature of the rock forced Leo and Stanley to full on aid climb today Progress was extremely slow. It looks free climbable, but too hard to do onsight with a few questionable sections. We only fixed two pitches. Meanwhile, Chris and Jason started to move the camp upto the ledge on belay 4, they brought the portaledges and enough food and gear for 1 night. Unfortunately the stove was damaged during the haul, so we had no hot food today. Day 7 Having not eaten or drunk anything all day or all night yesterday, we woke up wanting to go home. Stanley gallantly descended to get the other stove. After coffee and breakfast, motivation started to return. Leo and Stanley climbed up and fixed another 3 pitched. Chris, Jason and Al brought the rest of the camp to the ledge. Leo and Stanley returned to camp after midnight, they where both exhausted. The route still looks free climbable but we are running out of time. The weather is still and clear but very cold as we are in the shade all day. Day 8 The jumar up to the high point is becoming very long, our hands are a bloody mess! It is very difficult to get going in the morning. Two very slow pitches of difficult aid climbing, Leo took the first fall of the trip, a 15 ft time bomb. Aid climbing is very hard work, wish we could focus on free climbing but we need to get to the top of this thing. Day 9 Oh dear, the weather is deteriorating. we now have the first real wind of the trip, its brutally cold and extremely intimidating when it blows. It feels more like mid winter and not mid summer. Everyone is wearing all their clothes. If this wind persists, I'm not sure if we are going to make it. It's Stanley's birthday, 34 years old today - that will be a portaledge party and flapjacks to celebrate! If the wind calms down we will try to free climb and film some pitches today. If the wind persists, we will be in the portaledges all day. It's only 6 more pitches to the top but we need to film and free some stuff. Its going to be a big challenge to get everyone up and off Asgard in the next 6 days. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/Team_prepare_to_take_on_the_mighty_Mt_Asgard/ Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:43:06 GMT After months of preparation and training the team are now ready to start their ascent of Mount Asgard.  Read Leo’s own words on the preparation for the occasion… 9 August Seems like the awesome weather has finished. Raining, freezing, miserable. Kind of what we expected.After much deliberation we have decided to go for the aid route Inukshuk on the NW face of the N tower. Much less sunny than W face S tower but safer approach though still looks harrowing with so little snow. Much loose rock. Hope the weather improves. So much to do difficult to motivate in such cold wet conditions. Stanley and I go down to Summit lake stash for final bits and pieces. Took 6 hours up down and up. 10 August More grim weather but must push on. Organise all food, climbing gear and wall stuff. Takes all day. Oh god there’s a lot. Think we're gonna go as a 6 and fix a lot. Share the work and split into teams, aid, free and film. Climbing this thing is difficult, free climbing it may prove to be impossible, trying to capture the whole thing on film is a nightmare. Just massively increases the amount gear, work, time and logistical complication. Sure it's gonna be cool though - hope people appreciate the quality and amount of work.  11 August Finally commit to the project. Stanley and I fix 380m of rope up the approach. After a man eating bergshrund a straight forward 60m of 50 degree ice led to a horrifically loose 60m of chosseneering. Nearly trundeled a door size flake on myself when 30m run out. Stanley got bombed with lots of small stuff. Dangerous. Another 200m of ice and some slightly less deadly choss and we made the start of the climb! At first felt like a hazardous and unpleasant place but after some investigation and terracing we made a reasonably safe and comfortable hang. Fixed straight down. Gonna be a hazardous and hard haul but then we'll actually be able to go climbing! Unless the weather gets savage! 12 August More organising this morning but this afternoon we blast! 6 people for 10 days. Gonna be fun, but hard work and no doubt some deal of suffering. Hope it goes 100% free. If not never mind this place is amazing and we are about to climb one of the great walls of the world. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/Team_prepare_to_take_on_Mount_Asgard/ Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:40:21 GMT After months of preparation and training the team are now ready to start their ascent of Mount Asgard.  Read Leo’s own words on the preparation for the occasion… 9 August Seems like the awesome weather has finished. Raining, freezing, miserable. Kind of what we expected.After much deliberation we have decided to go for the aid route Inukshuk on the NW face of the N tower. Much less sunny than W face S tower but safer approach though still looks harrowing with so little snow. Much loose rock. Hope the weather improves. So much to do difficult to motivate in such cold wet conditions. Stanley and I go down to Summit lake stash for final bits and pieces. Took 6 hours up down and up. 10 August More grim weather but must push on. Organise all food, climbing gear and wall stuff. Takes all day. Oh god there’s a lot. Think we're gonna go as a 6 and fix a lot. Share the work and split into teams, aid, free and film. Climbing this thing is difficult, free climbing it may prove to be impossible, trying to capture the whole thing on film is a nightmare. Just massively increases the amount gear, work, time and logistical complication. Sure it's gonna be cool though - hope people appreciate the quality and amount of work.  11 August Finally commit to the project. Stanley and I fix 380m of rope up the approach. After a man eating bergshrund a straight forward 60m of 50 degree ice led to a horrifically loose 60m of chosseneering. Nearly trundeled a door size flake on myself when 30m run out. Stanley got bombed with lots of small stuff. Dangerous. Another 200m of ice and some slightly less deadly choss and we made the start of the climb! At first felt like a hazardous and unpleasant place but after some investigation and terracing we made a reasonably safe and comfortable hang. Fixed straight down. Gonna be a hazardous and hard haul but then we'll actually be able to go climbing! Unless the weather gets savage! 12 August More organising this morning but this afternoon we blast! 6 people for 10 days. Gonna be fun, but hard work and no doubt some deal of suffering. Hope it goes 100% free. If not never mind this place is amazing and we are about to climb one of the great walls of the world. http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/Incredible_skydive/ Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:27:14 GMT Leo and the team have taken the Asgard Project to new levels by skydiving in to the Arctic to reach Mount Asgard - special permission was given for the team to make the jump during the airdrop of their kit.  Read on in Leo’s own words how the project is progressing and what the jump meant to the team… 31 July Team assemble in Ottawa. All appreciate value of 12 oz hamburger and cold beer. Going to be on expedition rations for next 5 weeks. Fly to Iqaluit. Meet pilot who will be doing to the air drop. Total dude. Cowboy boots and laid back grin. 14 seat twin otter aircraft not available. Instead we got a 26 seat DC3! Iconic and very cool plane.Asked if we could drop in too, pilot was well up for it! He needs to check with boss.Oh god come on give us permission! Fly to Pangnirtung. Got to round up all the gear we shipped out then organise and pack every single thing 7 people need to climb and film a big wall in the arctic over next 4 weeks into 16 parachute loads.  Has to be ready by 11am tomorrow. Stressful. 1 August Heavy low cloud! Drop maybe off! Called and postponed plane arrival until 3pm. Stanley did amazing job of rigging webbing harnesses and parachutes to the 10 barrels, 4 double rucksack, and 2 big haul bag loads! We haven't tested this system! I hope it works! Weather clears, Plane arrives - we got permission to jump! Oh my goodness - we are about to drop on to a glacier 50 miles into the Arctic wilderness with a months worth of supplies and toys. EPIC! Insane flight up in one of most spectacular terrain imaginable. Drop seemed to work perfectly right in front of W face Asgard.Climbed to 5200 feet and Carlos, Stanley and I jumped out into the most incredible skydive of our lives. After landing safely it suddenly dawns on us where we are and how alone! 2 August Perfect weather. 15 C in Sun and no wind - however cold in shade. Wasn't expecting to have to hike but one of haul bags didn't stick the drop. Need more climbing gear - have in Pang. Must get to Summit Lake shelter to radio others to bring more gear. Epic glacial run and death morraine dash. Scenery on unimaginable scale, beautiful. Radio broken! Bivi. 3 August Continue down valley. Met guys at rope across river. Informed them of the news. Al and Ian up with us - Chris and Jas give your loads and back to Pang for more, sorry boys. They burn down light. We hike up heavy for 10 hours. Al and Ian did really well. 4 August Cross half hour creek. Was waist deep and terrifying on way down other day but thank god today early it's half a deep and pretty easy. Long hike. Push hard and make it to Base Camp 2 am. Done a 4 day hike in last 2. Tired. 5 August Rest and organise camp. Almost everything made it. Put some work into Morrain on glacier and now have awesome camp with tent platforms, huge stone kitchen and Thrown - Caribuo antlers and all. Water right there and epic view Of NW face of N tower and W face of South Tower Asgard. Looks way different to photos. Almost no snow. Lots of rock fall. Not great. 6 August Good weather. Inspect wall with telescope. Huge rock fall last night right down possible approach to NW face. Shocking amount of debris everywhere. Been very warm. Hopefully cool down a bit and stablize? Running the guantlet once is scary but ferrying loads multiple times in a rockfall zone is starting to ask for it. Very cold in shade. Perhaps 20 degrees difference from sun. NW face in shade all day. Beautiful wall but gonna be freezing - hard to free climb. W face get lots of Sun and will be sweet but approach looks even worse. Nasty serac filled coulior. Cause for concern. Need to assess options. 7 August Decide to blast Scott route with Carlos and Stanley. Get our bearings and check out access to summit, approach, descent options etc. Brilliant climb. Easy for 2500 feet then about a 1000 feet of HVS with a couple of tricky wide cracks right at top. 6 casual hours. Super fast descent. Another epic day. Great warm up and motivation boost. That’s the fun out of the way, now time to focus on some suffering? 8 August Turner Glacier, Mount Asgard. Didn't hydrate properly yesterday. Feeling it today. Good weather. All need to rest. Chris and Jas still not here yet. They should arrive today, if not we'll go down tomorrow and meet them. Less rock fall activity but still a tough decision that needs to be made soon. Is it safe enough to attempt one of these amazing walls? Which one? Must give it some serious thought. We are online! An amazing adventure so far. Lots of success and lots of problems!Resting today http://www.theasgardproject.com/article/Team_make_incredible_skydive/ Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:13:04 GMT Leo and the team have taken the Asgard Project to new levels by skydiving in to the Arctic to reach Mount Asgard - special permission was given for the team to make the jump during the airdrop of their kit.  Read on in Leo’s own words how the project is progressing and what the jump meant to the team… 31 July Team assemble in Ottawa. All appreciate value of 12 oz hamburger and cold beer. Going to be on expedition rations for next 5 weeks. Fly to Iqaluit. Meet pilot who will be doing to the air drop. Total dude. Cowboy boots and laid back grin. 14 seat twin otter aircraft not available. Instead we got a 26 seat DC3! Iconic and very cool plane.Asked if we could drop in too, pilot was well up for it! He needs to check with boss.Oh god come on give us permission! Fly to Pangnirtung. Got to round up all the gear we shipped out then organise and pack every single thing 7 people need to climb and film a big wall in the arctic over next 4 weeks into 16 parachute loads.  Has to be ready by 11am tomorrow. Stressful. 1 August Heavy low cloud! Drop maybe off! Called and postponed plane arrival until 3pm. Stanley did amazing job of rigging webbing harnesses and parachutes to the 10 barrels, 4 double rucksack, and 2 big haul bag loads! We haven't tested this system! I hope it works! Weather clears, Plane arrives - we got permission to jump! Oh my goodness - we are about to drop on to a glacier 50 miles into the Arctic wilderness with a months worth of supplies and toys. EPIC! Insane flight up in one of most spectacular terrain imaginable. Drop seemed to work perfectly right in front of W face Asgard.Climbed to 5200 feet and Carlos, Stanley and I jumped out into the most incredible skydive of our lives. After landing safely it suddenly dawns on us where we are and how alone! 2 August Perfect weather. 15 C in Sun and no wind - however cold in shade. Wasn't expecting to have to hike but one of haul bags didn't stick the drop. Need more climbing gear - have in Pang. Must get to Summit Lake shelter to radio others to bring more gear. Epic glacial run and death morraine dash. Scenery on unimaginable scale, beautiful. Radio broken! Bivi. 3 August Continue down valley. Met guys at rope across river. Informed them of the news. Al and Ian up with us - Chris and Jas give your loads and back to Pang for more, sorry boys. They burn down light. We hike up heavy for 10 hours. Al and Ian did really well. 4 August Cross half hour creek. Was waist deep and terrifying on way down other day but thank god today early it's half a deep and pretty easy. Long hike. Push hard and make it to Base Camp 2 am. Done a 4 day hike in last 2. Tired. 5 August Rest and organise camp. Almost everything made it. Put some work into Morrain on glacier and now have awesome camp with tent platforms, huge stone kitchen and Thrown - Caribuo antlers and all. Water right there and epic view Of NW face of N tower and W face of South Tower Asgard. Looks way different to photos. Almost no snow. Lots of rock fall. Not great. 6 August Good weather. Inspect wall with telescope. Huge rock fall last night right down possible approach to NW face. Shocking amount of debris everywhere. Been very warm. Hopefully cool down a bit and stablize? Running the guantlet once is scary but ferrying loads multiple times in a rockfall zone is starting to ask for it. Very cold in shade. Perhaps 20 degrees difference from sun. NW face in shade all day. Beautiful wall but gonna be freezing - hard to free climb. W face get lots of Sun and will be sweet but approach looks even worse. Nasty serac filled coulior. Cause for concern. Need to assess options. 7 August Decide to blast Scott route with Carlos and Stanley. Get our bearings and check out access to summit, approach, descent options etc. Brilliant climb. Easy for 2500 feet then about a 1000 feet of HVS with a couple of tricky wide cracks right at top. 6 casual hours. Super fast descent. Another epic day. Great warm up and motivation boost. That’s the fun out of the way, now time to focus on some suffering? 8 August Turner Glacier, Mount Asgard. Didn't hydrate properly yesterday. Feeling it today. Good weather. All need to rest. Chris and Jas still not here yet. They should arrive today, if not we'll go down tomorrow and meet them. Less rock fall activity but still a tough decision that needs to be made soon. Is it safe enough to attempt one of these amazing walls? Which one? Must give it some serious thought. We are online! An amazing adventure so far. Lots of success and lots of problems!Resting today